A HEXHAM restaurant which provides training and support for people with mental health problems could be saved from closure after council chiefs met campaigners this week. 

For more than 20 years, the Tans restaurant on St Mary's Chare has served as a vital rehabilitation service for mental health patients, providing a stepping stone back into employment. 

But after Northumberland County Council announced in May that it was withdrawing its funding for the service, more than 1,600 people signed a petition calling for it to be saved. 

Campaigners put their case to the county council's petitions committee at County Hall in Morpeth on Wednesday, where they claimed the Tans was irreplaceable. 

And now the committee has decided to advise the council's ruling Labour administration to explore the possibility of keeping the Tans open as a social enterprise scheme. 

Leading the campaign, Judy Lloyd, who brought an additional 270 signatures with her to the meeting, said: "The Tans is a hub where real people can talk face-to-face. 

"It cannot be substituted by a telephone helpline. It's a safe and meaningful rehabilitation environment."

Fellow campaigner Andrew Clark said the county council had made no efforts to explore the possibility of cutting costs, without closing the Tans. 

Campaigners plan to hold a public meeting in Hexham, to discuss the future of the Tans. 

A date and venue have yet to be confirmed.